


Different

by orphan_account



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, credence deserves a hug, everything will be ok, oblivious idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 11:30:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9489071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: A deformed, pink oatmeal pie, unspoken words and something different.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I really just wanted an excuse to write some fluff and have Graves gushing about his boy like we know he does all the time. And most importantly, I just wanted Credence to Get A God Damn Hug holy shit.

Graves _hated_ to have to rely on anyone else. There was nothing he despised more than having to ask someone for help. But he knew he had to, and that’s how he found himself standing in Tina Goldstein’s small apartment which smelled of herbs, flowers and food. Really good food. God, he was hungry.  
  
He looked behind him to check on Credence, who was standing with his head bowed and fiddling with his sleeve. Graves reached a hand back to gently rub his thumb. His hand felt cold like he had expected, but it made the boy look up and give him a nervous, small smile. Just a bit of comfort. For the both of them, perhaps.  
  
“Can I get you two anything?” It was Queenie, who was standing in front of them now, a beaming smile on her lips which radiated safeness and something that could only be described as a cozy, home-like feeling. She looked at Graves first, but when he didn't answer (mostly because he was annoyed that he had to wait for Tina), she turned to Credence instead.  
  
“Let’s get you something to eat, sweethearts. Tina won’t be here for another hour anyway.” She took Credence by his hand, which at first made him flinch and stare at her, but she just gave him a gentle smile and spoke softly. “It’s okay sweetie, I’ll show you how to make some oatmeal cream pies. I think you’d like those.” Credence looked at him as silent question and he merely nodded, which was all the boy needed to follow Queenie along.  
  
Graves looked around the crammy apartment for a minute or two before sitting down on the right side of the couch by the windows, looking rather out of place in his polished clothing. He crossed his legs and his attention was drawn to the small fireplace, how the flames danced alongside each other and made a quiet crackling noise every now and again. He could hear Queenie talk, but it was hushed and he looked over there to see Credence softly smiling and nodding while he watched her gracefully cooking with her wand.  
  
His eyes fell back on Credence, who was looking relaxed and not as tense as he would most of the time. His boy had been healing and recuperating for a few months now and Graves honestly hadn’t felt this lucky and happy in a very, very long time. Seeing his eyes light up when he succeeded on casting a new spell or gain control of the darkness inside him was something that made his heart swell to a size it’d never been before. He was so precious and beyond amazing, he was something Graves wouldn’t ever be able to truly comprehend. And he was so incredibly powerful and strong too, in possession of a strength he'd never experienced in anyone before. Yet he had the softest and most loving heart and he had never wanted to hurt anyone again after that night, he knew so. He hadn’t been there physically, but he knew it by the beat of his boy’s heart. His gaze turned back to the fire, which was much like his obscurus. Dangerous and destructive. He knew Credence would still wake up screaming and sweating some nights when the darkness threatened to overtake him again. He was here to protect him now though, from himself and everyone else. And he was never letting anyone hurt his boy again. His arms would find their way around his shaking body on even the most hopeless nights.  
  
He looked up to see Credence _giggling_ as Queenie held up a completely pink, small, deformed oatmeal pie. He’d never heard a sound that sweet and so innocent and suddenly he was grinning at him and moving over to him with the pie in hand. He sat down beside him and handed it to him. “Taste it,” he said, still grinning widely and he looked at her and then back to him before shaking his head and eating the thing in one piece. It was surprisingly enough not that bad and actually edible. And then Credence broke out in full laughter and Queenie was laughing too.  
  
“What? What’s so funny?” He looked at both of them with a confused scowl and tried to see if he had spilled something on himself.  
  
Credence could barely speak from laughter, still he tried his best. “I think I might have messed up... a little more than just the look of that pie...”  
  
“I don’t know, I think he looks much better now,” Queenie said, trying to stop laughing but clearly failing.  
  
“Credence,” Graves tried to say sternly and a bit desperately, but it apparently just made the boy laugh again.  
  
“Don’t worry Mr. Graves, it’s already fading. You’re just, uh,” Credence held a hand to his mouth, his eyes glowing with happiness, just pure happiness, “you’re sort of really pink.”  
  
If anyone else had turned him pink, he’d probably have been furious and embarrassed out of his mind. "You're both ridiculous," he complained but right now, all he could show was fake offense while he felt nothing but endearment for the boy sitting beside him.   
  
  
  
  
  
Tina had been home shortly after that, surprised to find both Graves and Credence there, seeing as Graves never visited anyone - ever, - let alone ask for help, but then again, things had changed after Credence had become of the man’s life. He knew it too. Credence was truly someone incredibly special in every sense of the word. She raised an eyebrow at Graves' face, which was apparently still slighty pink. "I can't believe you're that easy to prank," she said while shaking her head at Queenie. "Now why are you here?"   
  
He explained and she made quick work of helping him out with how to find the specific information, which they talked over during dinner (even though Graves had denied staying for dinner at first, until Credence had given him puppy eyes). He tried to not get distracted by Credence enjoying his food, continously smiling his way and actively talking to Queenie. He wanted to make sure he was always that happy.  
  
  
  
  
  
Just before they left, Tina had taken Credence over to their bookshelf to give him a book and Graves was left standing awkwardly beside Queenie. She gave him a knowing smile, because she knew he wanted to thank her but didn’t know how to. It was sort of comforting to not have to talk, even though it was slightly discomforting to know she could hear every part of his inner monologue.  
  
“You love him, don’t you?” She asked, not reprovingly or condescendingly, just curiously.  
  
He looked down at his shoes and his folded hands and knew that he’d answered the question without having to even say it out loud. A repeated yes went through his mind. “Don’t read my thoughts.”  
  
“He loves you too, you know. You should tell him all those things you think of him,” she continued, and he was close to calling for Credence to say they’d be going now.  
  
Instead, he looked over at her, a very faint smile on his lips before the other two joined them again, Credence now holding a green book in his hand. “Herblore,” Tina mouthed and Graves’ faint smile still hadn’t faded. He mouthed a thank you in return. He stepped a little closer to Credence to put a hand on the back of his neck. “You ready to go?”  
  
He looked up at him, a mix of a silent whine and affection in his eyes and Graves was struck by just how blind he’d been. The boy nodded. “Can we maybe walk home?” He whispered and Graves couldn’t help but to smile and instantly say yes. He swore he could see Queenie smile too from the corner of his eye. They started to walk out, bidding their farewells to the Goldstein sisters before leaving.  
  
  
  
  
  
They walked in silence half the way, somehow both sensing that something had changed, that something was somehow different now. The air felt thicker and yet his feet and shoulders lighter. He was far more aware of every step he took, how close he was walking to the boy beside him. Something in Credence's behavior had changed too. He seemed to still be smiling just slighty, sneaking glances at him in a way he hadn't seemed to do before and he appeared to be standing taller, walking straighter. As if a burden had been lifted and made something blossom inside him. He wondered if Queenie had said anything to him too. Perhaps it was logical to just ask, except he wasn’t really sure how. For just a minute he admired the slight, pink blush on the boy's cheek and his brown eyes searching for something in the distance somewhere until he noticed him staring and his eyes found the concrete again.  
  
He'd barely thought of a coherent question before he found himself saying the boy's name out loud.  
  
“Mr. Graves-” “Credence-” They said on top of each other, both looking up. Credence clearly blushed further and ducked his head. “Uh, sorry, you go first,” he said quietly.  
  
God damn it, he thought, and lost any trail of thought he might've had. “You did good today. With the food, I mean. You learn so quickly.”  
  
“Oh,” he said, taken aback it seemed. Maybe he had been expecting him to say something else. Nevertheless, the boy seemed to shiver lightly at Graves' praise. “T-thank you.” God, the boy stammering like that made him want to just wrap him up in his arms and never let go. It was absolutely intoxicating to have that effect on someone so fragile yet so impossibly strong beyond his own knowledge.  
  
He saw the boy switch the book from one hand to the other, burying his probably very cold hand in his pocket. “Wait, here, let me get that for you,” Graves said, stopping them both and lifting his hand with the book in it. He closed both his hands around Credence’s hand and the book before shrinking it to just a small cube, to then take it and put it in the boy’s pocket. “There you go. Keep both of those hands warm. You want my jacket?"  
  
Credence looked at him, awestruck, even though he’d seen him do that many times before before shaking his head. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of that specific spell himself. Graves knew he would eventually, he was smart and alert, if just a small bit clumsy. He'd figure it out eventually, Graves was sure. “Don’t worry my boy, you’ll learn soon enough.” He ran a gentle hand over Credence's cold cheek and the boy closed his eyes briefly. Then before Graves did anything he'd make himself regret, he stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket and started to walk again.  
  
"So what did you want to say to me?" Graves began, but he didn’t take more than a step before he felt a hand grab his sleeve and hearing a weak ‘Graves’. He turned around to find the boy surging forward to hug him, his arms disappearing under his cloak and his hands landing on the man’s back. It felt like all air had been punched right out of him. “Oh my boy,” Graves muttered, hugging him back instantly, even though he hadn't expected it at all. Credence didn't initate physical contact a lot, though he knew the boy always craved it. He'd just never really realized _why_. He'd thought he just craved affection in general. But perhaps he'd been wrong all along and taken things more lightly than he should have. Perhaps things were meant to be different now.   
  
“I love you,” Credence whispered, his head buried in the crook of his neck. "Thank you for taking care of me." The words made him smile so much that he could feel the muscles in his cheeks strain and damn near feel his heart implode.  
  
“I love you too, Credence,” he whispered back and hugged the boy tighter. "And I'm as thankful as you are." He then pulled back a little, looking right at Credence, drawing his hands up to cradle his face, to really make him see and understand. "Everything is different with you here, my boy." Credence smiled weakly, clearly on the verge of tears and it was all Graves needed to close the space between them, kissing the boy with every ounce of urgency and intensity within him. It seemed like Credence felt it too, the culmination making darkness appear around the edges of his body, yet he didn't seem frightened. Graves was sure he felt the ground move beneath them, small cracks appearing under his feet and he was sure he’d never felt anything as powerful his entire life.  
  
Their lips parted and Credence was breathing heavily, his forehead against Graves’ and his hands clutching the back of his vest. He pulled the boy in for a hug again and decided he wasn’t ever going to let go.


End file.
